Browns Predicted to Cut Ties With $100 Million Star in Blockbuster Trade
The Cleveland Browns are on the brink of becoming sellers ahead of the NFL’s November 5 trade deadline after a 1-4 start and with a couple of daunting matchups on their schedule over the next few weeks.
In that context, Josh Edwards of CBS Sports predicted on Thursday, October 10, that the team will ultimately trade star wide receiver Amari Cooper back to the Dallas Cowboys in return for draft capital.
“Although the season has not gone as planned, the acquisition of Cooper would give [Dallas] a jolt it desperately needs,” Edwards wrote. “Cooper is relatively inexpensive financially and already has a rapport with [quarterback] Dak Prescott.”
Browns Prepped for Amari Cooper Trade With Contract Restructure
GettyWide receiver Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns restructured the final season of Cooper’s $100 million contract in 2024 for the precise purpose of making him a tradable player and clearing cap space in the meantime.
Cleveland converted $18.88 million of the wideout’s salary into a signing bonus, which opened up more than $15 million in cap space this year and brought Cooper’s base salary down to the $1.21 million league minimum.
That translates into 18 game checks of just $67,222, which means any team that trades for Cooper is only on the hook that amount (both in terms of cap space and actual cash paid) multiplied by however many weeks remain in the season once that franchise acquires him.
For example, if the Cowboys dealt for Cooper following Week 8, Dallas would take on a cap hit of just $672,222 for the remainder of the season.
The Browns’ choice to restructure Cooper’s deal was indicative of several things — first and foremost that the team was overextended financially coming into the season and desperately needed cap space, primarily because of the fully-guaranteed $230 million albatross around its neck that is quarterback Deshaun Watson’s contract.
However, it also indicated that Cleveland was prepared to cut and run in the last year of Cooper’s deal, which means the team doesn’t believe there is a viable path forward to bringing the Pro Bowl wide receiver back in 2025 and beyond.
The Browns also upped Cooper’s trade value in terms of the draft asset(s) they can get back because he is both talented and inexpensive, which makes him a prize for teams that range from middling to good t0 the upper echelon of the league — as he can help of them at a value price.
Amari Cooper Can up Trade Value Ahead of Deadline
GettyWide receiver Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland fleeced the Cowboys in the initial Cooper trade in March 2022, sending Dallas a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick swap in return for the receiver.
